Yar Ebadi
Robin Hagens Maupin Chair in Business
Professor of management
Yar M. Ebadi, professor of management and the Robin Hagans Maupin Chair in Business
Administration, served as dean of the College of Business Administration from 1996–2011.
He returned to the management classroom in January 2012.
Ebadi was the inaugural holder of the Edgerley Family Deanship of Business, the first endowed deanship at K-State.
Under Ebadi's leadership, the college earned reaccreditation in 2008 for the second time since he became dean -- the first time was in 1998 -- from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the premier business accrediting agency in the world. During Ebadi's time as dean, student enrollment also increased by more than 40 percent, student placement was consistent at 90 percent and student scholarships more than quadrupled.
The college earned national recognition under Ebadi, including being listed in 2010 and 2011 among BusinessWeek's top undergraduate business programs. The college's master of business administration program ranked among the Global 100 best in the Aspen Institute's Beyond Grey Pinstripes biennial survey and alternative rankings in fall 2009. This institute examines how well schools demonstrate significant leadership in integrating social, environmental and ethical issues into their master of business administration programs.
Ebadi also increased faculty fellowships from six awards totaling $30,000 in salary supplements in 1996 to 33 awards for total salary supplements of $569,000 in 2011, all with the goal of recruiting and retaining top faculty. The 2011 figure includes nine faculty of distinction chairs developed under the Kansas Board of Regents Faculty of Distinction Program, which augments the earnings of chairs established with private endowments of $500,000 or more.
During Ebadi's tenure the college met and exceeded its goal in the Changing Lives capital campaign, the university's largest campaign to date. Completed in 2008, the campaign total raised more than $30.4 million, 152 percent of the college's $20 million goal.
Ebadi also supervised the renovation of Calvin Hall. Built in 1908, the hall needed significant improvements and he was successful in raising private funds totaling more than $3 million to assist in a complete renovation of the building, which includes a student technology center with 40 advanced work stations.
Prior to being appointed dean, Ebadi was interim dean of the college in 1995, associate dean from 1992-1995, and head of the department of management from 1988-1992. He has served as the Robin Hagens Maupin Chair in Business since 1992. Before coming to K-State, Ebadi served in various faculty positions at Kabul University in Afghanistan and Indiana University.
Ebadi received his bachelor's degree from Kabul University and his master's degree from Georgia Institute of Technology, both in mechanical engineering. He received both his master of business administration in production and operations management and his doctorate in management from Indiana University. He also received additional professional certifications from the University of Minnesota and from Harvard University.
Ebadi is active in numerous academic, professional and university organizations. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Gamma Sigma, Sigma Iota Epsilon, Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma honoraries. His professional memberships include the Academy of Management, the Decision Sciences Institute and the Institute of Management Science. He has served on numerous committees, including the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business Pre-Accreditation Committee, the Commerce Bank (Manhattan) board of directors, the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisitions and Commercialization board of trustees, the University Strategic Committee, the Council of Academic Deans and several major search committees. Ebadi is an active member of Rotary and the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce. He received the College of Business Administration's Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 1987 and served as president of the Midwest Business Deans Association in 2001-2002.
Ebadi can be reached at yebadi@k-state.edu.